Filipinos are watching Filipino films on the big screen. This week's beneficiary? JMFyang.
 |
| (C) Regal |
The Dan Villegas-directed film starring JM Ibarra and Fyang Smith opened to ₱23 million (including Monday and partial Tuesday grosses) in the country. That is a very solid opening for a local non-MMFF film in the post-pandemic era. For comparison, An Inconvenient Love earned ₱15 million during its first few days back in 2022, when some Filipinos were still adamant about returning to cinemas.
As previously reported, Regal, Project 8, and consultant Lunchbox positioned the film for a potential breakout. Aside from lower ticket prices, the love team has been sent to various locations and media platforms to drum up excitement for the film. This is a major win for the industry, as a studio not named Star Cinema or VIVA Films was able to open a film at this level. It also signals a bright future for the JMFyang love team if they play their cards right.
Meanwhile, The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues to dominate in the country. The highly anticipated sequel added $752K (est. ₱46.2 million) in its second week, down 55 percent. In two weeks, it has already earned $2.713 million (est. ₱167 million), joining the ranks of Project Hail Mary, The Loved One, and Avatar: Fire and Ash as the year’s top-grossing films. By next week, it will surely climb even higher in the rankings.
Next week sees the opening of Warner Bros.-distributed Midnight Girls from director Irene Emma Villamor. Presales are currently trending slightly behind Almost Us, and the film reportedly has 15 sold-out screenings as of this writing. Described here as the dark horse film of the month, all eyes will be on this drama led by Jodi Sta. Maria.
This article will be updated as more box office figures are released.
